Like Falling Snow
by shinyspoon
Summary: Natalie Belle isn't a small girl. She enjoys looking in the mirror to see herself as very tall young lady, with long arms and legs. Yet, her personality is not big enough to fill her large figure: she's as small and quiet as a mouse. When under pressure, Natalie tends to falter in her actions and her decisions. Sadly, being a half-blood comes with lots of pressure.


Hello, everyone! Thank you for taking the time out to read my first story! I'm sorry the first chapter is so long, but I hate stories that are too short. Before we start, some warnings and a disclaimer! _Ahem!_ This story is OC-centric! The plot is centered around my OCs: Natalie and Alice Taylor. If you don't enjoy reading about OCs, please take this into consideration! Also, I put lots of time and energy into creating these characters. If any of them turn out to be a Mary-Sue (I'm a bit nervous about Natalie) do not hesitate to tell me! I welcome harsh criticism - as a matter of fact, as a student in middle school, I depend on it in order to grow as a writer! Lastly, while I own the characters I create, many of the characters I write about are not my property. They belong to Rick Riordan, the genius behind the Percy Jackson series.

Now that all the official stuff is out of the way, let's begin! :D

**chapter one: why you can't trust the police**

Late at night, Natalie Taylor - age 5, sat sprawled out on the living room couch. She was exhausted, but refused to fall asleep. Natalie was waiting for something. Barbie and Canning were awake two, but they weren't allowed on the couch. Dad was always worried their paws would mess up the upholstery. The two dogs sat on the floor next to the couch, playing with the chew toy they got for Christmas. Natalie wasn't sure why they celebrated Christmas. Her father never went to church and didn't own a bible. She didn't either. Maybe he liked buying her presents. That was a nice thought. Nice thoughts seemed to pop up everywhere Natalie went these days. For the past nine months, her house had been filled with nice thoughts. She wasn't sure how it worked, but her Dad said he had planted a seed in Mama's stomach, then they waited for it to grow into a baby. A whole nine months! It seemed to take way too much time to grow a baby. When she'd grown strawberries in the backyard, they'd only taken a few weeks. Maybe babies are grown from special seeds then, she thought. That made sense. It was a good time for a baby to be born anyway. Natalie's birthday was in a few weeks! Her new sister would be the perfect birthday present.

A car door slammed outside. Finally! Natalie raced to the window, the dogs following behind her. Sure enough, her mother and father were leaving the car. But where was the baby? Oh, there it is! Snugged up tightly in a white blanket, her little sister slept happily in her mother's arms. Natalie hummed. She hadn't even seen the baby yet, but already she felt so much happier. She was a big sister now! Barbie and Canning would have another friend to play with!

Natalie opened the door for her parents, who smiled down at her. Her darling mother, who we'll call Natasha for now, was an sweet-faced woman with light caramel skin and curly hair she kept in a bun on the top of her head. Tonight, however, her mother looked different. Her eyes were tired and her hair was out and flying, only kept in line by a white bandana. Her father, Jordan, looked different too, but in a different way. Her father's skin was lighter than her mother's, much lighter. Tonight, however, it was more of a rosy pink than porcelain. Sweat was collected in small bubbles on his forehead and neck. His hair was...her father never had much hair.

Despite their haggard appearances, they seemed so happy, so excited to take delight in their second child together. Kneeling down to meet Natalie's eye level, Natasha pecked her on her nose. "Here's your little sister!" she gushed. "Can you guess what her name is?"

Natalie couldn't hear her mother. She was focused on the baby in her mother's arms, who she thought was absolutely adorable. I can't compete with that face, she thought dismally. The dogs walked over and sniffed the newborn curiously. They sniffed for a while, as if trying to seal the baby's scent in their memories forever. Natalie was starting to feel a little bit jealous. Those were her dogs! She grew up with them, they protected her! She didn't want to share. Would she have to share her mother and father to? Or would she have to stay with dad while her mama nursed and fed the baby? She wanted to keep them both! For a short minute, Natalie glared at the baby. Her mother watched her face carefully, not saying anything, only assessing her older daughter's whirlwind of emotions.

The baby didn't stay asleep for a long time. Slowly, it opened it's eyes and gurgled happily when she saw Natalie's face above her. The five year old's face softened instantly and her mother let out an unheard sigh of relief.

"Hello, little one! I'm Natalie. You can call me whatever you want, except booger-face. I hear enough of that from Joshua, next door. We're going to have a lot of fun together, okay?" she cooed. The baby reached out for Natalie's finger and the five year old handed it over happily. Unexpectedly, though her parents might have seen it coming, the infant forced Natalie's finger into her mouth.

"Mom, Dad, she's eating me! Get her some food before she takes my whole arm!"

"She doesn't have teeth, Nene." chuckled her father. Natalie glared and stomped her foot, feeling teased. "So? It's disgusting, get her off!"

"Can't you just pull it out?"

"I don't want to!"

"Why not?"

Natalie looked at the little girl licking her finger like a pacifier and sighed. "Nene?" her mother coaxed gently, an eyebrow raised.

"She's happy." Natalie muttered, looking away. "If I take it away from her, she'll probably cry. I don't want her to know about crying."

Chuckling even more, Jordan softly tugged on Natalie's finger. It popped out easily, and Natalie quickly wiped her dripping finger on her dress. She shivered, feeling grossed out knowing she had spit that wasn't even hers on her pretty dress.

"Do you want to guess her name?" Natasha asked again.

"No. I'll call her...Lana. Short for Alice. Like it?"

Her mother smiled and handed the baby to her father. Picking Natalie up by her waist, she cradled the five year old in her arms. "You're awfully smart, you know that? A little heavy now that you've grown so, but really, really smart."

"How come?" asked Natalie. Her mother just laughed. She wouldn't tell her until she'd grown up a bit, or asked what her sister's real name was, but her first-born had answered correctly on the first try. Alice Layla Taylor was the newest addition to the Taylor family.

Natasha, however, dreaded the day she'd have to leave the Taylor's forever.

8 YEARS LATER

"Alice, you're not getting anymore candy - especially none of mine!" grumbled Natalie as she hid her chocolate bar between her legs. It was the day after halloween and Alice had already eaten everything she'd brought home. To her defense, the neighbors hadn't given her a lot. They knew she was young and that too much candy would make her sick. Sure, they'd given Natalie a little bit more, but Natalie never ate her candy in a hurry. Her bag would probably last her until New Years. The only reason she didn't have any for Easter was because she'd always give Alice a bunch of it for Christmas.

"Come on, Nene, you never eat your candy!" the 8 year old whined. Natalie rolled her eyes and threw one of her embroidery pillows at the younger girl.

"Now you're lying. You've seen me eat candy almost every other day, I just don't eat as much as you." she teased. To prove her case, Natalie took a larger than usual bite of her chocolate bar, causing steam to leak from Alice's ears.

Not literally.

"You're so greedy, Nene!" puffed Alice, slamming the couch with her fist.

"I'm greedy? You finished an entire bag of candies in one night, yet you still ask me to spare you some of my own." scolded Natalie playfully.

"But-" she began to argue, but Natalie cut her off.

"No way, sorry. Go drink some water or something. Have some grapes from the fridge, you love those." she said.

"Nene-" Alice tried again, but Natalie wouldn't budge.

"Go! And grab me a peach while you're at it, Dad said he's not coming with dinner until 6. Running errands, apparently." the 13 year old told her. Alice sighed, defeated, and climbed down from the couch, planning to get her a peach with spots on it.

"Meanie." she muttered on her way out, sticking her tongue out for her older sister to see. Natalie smiled and bit into her chocolate bar again, sticking her cocoa-covered tongue out for her little sister to see.

"Glutton." called the eldest as she propped her foot on the couch, waiting for her sister to return.

7 minutes passed and Alice did not come back. Natalie stood up and began to search the house, thinking she would find her pouting in a corner about the candy. Heading into the kitchen first, what she saw made her scream. It was a terrified sound, but it failed to alert the neighbors.

"Don't you start shouting now! You know how long I was waiting for your butt to get in this kitchen? Half an hour, at minimum, girlfriend! I got so bored, then this one walked in...I got a little busy, as you can see."

In the kitchen, on the counter, Alice laid frightened and scared. Her arms were tied up tight and she had a ridiculously thick cloth covering her mouth. On her small little arms, a knife had been used to carve 3 large ornate skulls into her candy caramel skin. Yet, the man who stood in front of her sister had no knife. He was holding no weapons at all. What was happening?

"How did you get inside the house? Why did you tie up my little sister?" asked Natalie. Her voice was strong, but her knees trembled horridly.

"Oh, she's yours? My bad. I was sent here by my boss. He's a little offended by your kind's lack of respect for the rules he's been working so hard to enforce." he said, smiling evilly. Natalie stared at the man harder, then screamed again. This man...he was no man. She'd noticed how pale he was when she'd walked in, but she'd just accepted it. Just like she'd accepted the rainbow t-shirt, sagging khaki shorts and glaringly obvious fruit of the loom briefs he was wearing. The massive amounts of gold jewelry that hung on his neck, ears, head, arms and wrist were hard to get past too. But, you know, different people, different colors. She knew that well. But looking closer, there's no way that thing was human. His eyes glowed a nasty yellow and his bones were more apparent than his skin. It looked like a real man, but it's skin was practically see-through! He was like a skeleton!

Besides, what was this foolishness about not following the rules? Natalie always followed the rules! Ever since she had seen that Criminal Minds episode, a show she had learned the hard way was not made for kids, she made sure to follow the rules just so crazy people wouldn't break into her home and hurt her family. Unfortunately, the universe didn't care about her perfect record. There was a crazy, mentally ill person, right in front of her, and her sister laid wounded and bleeding on the kitchen counter.

She'd call the police. Reaching for her sister, Natalie freed her from the thick cloth around her mouth and kissed her cheeks lovingly. Alice, still slightly traumatized by the situation, began to cry softly. Then, Natalie snatched the house phone from it's dock on the table and began to dial the police. Watching the man carefully, she answered the the man on the line, giving him her address and explaining the situation the best she could: "There's a scary-looking man in my house that I don't know and he's been cutting up my little sister. Quickly, please, she needs medical attention!" The skeleton man smirked as she said this, causing Natalie to shiver.

"We're on our way." said the police officer, hanging up quickly.

Natalie looked at the man, who hadn't said or done anything since she called. He didn't even stop her from calling. Was he not afraid of the police? Would the police even be able to see him like she could? Natalie thought back to all the strange things she'd dealt with as a child growing up. She could see perfectly at night, but needed glasses during the day. When she was angry or scared, little tendrils made of shadows would poke out from her skin. As far as she knew, they were harmless, but perhaps those skills had been what the skeleton man meant by "your kind". This truth made Natalie wanna groan. Alice had those abilities too. Except for the shadowy tendrils. Alice turned invisible for an undetermined amount of time when she was scared. Unfortunately, it took too much work to properly scare Alice. Right now, she was only in pain and really annoyed.

About to ask the atrocity in front of her another question, she stopped short when she saw the biggest sword she'd ever seen appear in his hands. Half of it was a bronzy color, while the other half looked like regular stainless steel. It looked like a super-sized butcher's knife! How could he have gotten that in the kitchen so fast? There's no way she could have missed it walking in, it was huge! Chuckling at the fear and uncertainty obvious in her eyes, the skeleton man took a step closer to her. Natalie gulped.

"If you don't mind, how old are you? 15, 17 years, maybe?" he asked, acting as if he said "What's the weather like outside?" Still, Natalie felt like she had to answer with some ration of salt, if only a little bit.

"I'm 13, you dolt." she spat, trying to hold on to any courage she could find. She couldn't afford to be scared with her sister so vulnerable. Unfortunately, her little act made the creature laugh even louder.

"Easier than I thought then? Man, Boss really needs to give me better missions. Even the uglies get more jobs than me!"

And he swung down with his "sword".

On instinct, Natalie grabbed Alice by her arm the minute she saw his sword twitch. Running to the front door, she forced it open and bolted out onto the sidewalk. Resting Alice in the grass, Natalie looked around for the police. Sure enough, they sped over to where she was and asked where her sister was. She pointed to the little girl on the lawn and screamed again when the skeleton man reached the door, his big shiny butcher's sword in plain sight. This time she was a bit louder, but she just could not scream loud enough for anyone other than the policemen to hear. Natalie wasn't used to yelling or screaming loudly, even as a baby. She was a quiet kid. Not helpful when you're in life or death situations, obviously.

The creature smiled and began to walk towards her, but the minute he moved, both of the policemen fired several bullets aimed at his two men dropped their guns in horror as the skeletal monster smiled and the holes in his skin closed up, not leaving a trace of ever being shot.

"N-now, listen you!" said the slightly larger policeman. He coughed and waved his handcuffs for the creature to see. Natalie blanched. That wouldn't do anything! Couldn't they see the huge sword he was holding?

"We are from the police force! We have orders to arrest and hold you for questioning in our -uh- station not to far away from here? Is that- are you fine with that? Yes...no? Nothing, okay, if you just calmly step over here so we can-woah!"

The creature lunged, ripping and shredding and slicing his victims to pieces. Natalie watched in horror as it destroyed the two men, making them completely unrecognizable. Alice screamed as her body disappeared and Natalie let out a relieved sigh. She's turned invisible, finally. Hopefully, she'd stay that way long enough for some real help to arrive. Would she and her sister end up shredded and beheaded like that too? Last time she checked, it was still 4 o'clock. Her father wouldn't get home for another 2 hours, maybe an hour and a half. With the way the policemen ended up, however, Natalie didn't think he would survive very long anyway.

_Call the dogs_, said a loving voice in her mind. Barbie and Canning, thought Natalie. They'd died last year, months after her mother had disappeared.

_Those aren't their names, but they should respond to your voice anyway. Call them, Natalie,_ pleaded the voice in her head. It reminded her a bit of her mom. That didn't make sense either, but she'd listen anyway.

"Barbie! Canning! Approach!" she yelled firmly. Natalie wasn't sure where the "approach" bit came from, but it sounded okay. At her command, two blackened circles appeared in the air beside her. From them, two very familiar dogs leaped onto the ground and quickly moved to her side. Those were the canines she had grown up with, most definitely. They looked different though, as if they'd been sprinkled with silver and gold glitter. Dust was a better word, actually. Thanks mama, she thought, even though she was sure it wasn't her that helped her.

_You're welcome, sweets_, cooed the voice in her head. Natalie considered talking to her again, but now wasn't a good time to be distracted. If she knew her sister well, Alice would be hiding in the tree-house. Whether the eight year old had yet become visible again remained uncertain. It didn't really matter though, as long as she stayed in there, she'd be safe. The tree-house was carefully hidden in the leaves of the giant tree next to their house. Natalie would know. When Natalie was smaller, she and Alice had been dropping water balloons on neighbors from the tree house for years during the summer, always undetected. Her sister was definitely safe for now. Whatever Natalie had to do to keep things that way, she would do.

"Hey!" she yelled, a bit angry at the skeletal man for ignoring her until now. His attention had been focused on the the pieces of meat on the sidewalk that used to be two police officers. It looked like he had been...eating them, or at least sniffing them. Disgusting, he really was some kind of animal. His attention was on her now though. He licked his lips and smiled calmly.

"Good, you didn't run away. Where's the tiny one, though? She go to the bathroom or something?" he asked, with his hands in his pockets. His sword wasn't anywhere she could see, but that just made Natalie more on edge. She wasn't going to be surprised like she was before. He had a weapon on him, somewhere, and it would never touch her family again. She said nothing, just contemplated how she'd use the dogs to help her fight. They'd obeyed her when she called them forward from the -uh- blackness, so maybe they'd obey when she told them to attack.

"Not going to speak? Alright, then, a different question. Where didja get the big ol' dogs? Better yet, how can a fellow get his hands on some? I know big boss would love one of those on his mantle."

Still thinking about her next move, Natalie ignored him again.

"Well, if you're not going to pay attention to me, then why don't I just swing my-"

"Barbie! Canning! Take his arms off. Any other limbs are fine, just make sure he can't use his sword." Natalie commanded forcefully, putting all her energy into her voice. It sounded deeper to her. Richer. Stronger. It sounded better to the dogs too. They bounded after the colorfully dressed skeleton, latching on to his arms and knocking him to the ground. It howled in pain, trying desperately to shake of the hounds before the Natalie "got any ideas".

_Natalie, quickly, while the demon's distracted! Your hounds can injure him, but his limbs will grow back if his neck is still attached! Reach into the circles Barbie and Canning had entered from and try to grab onto your weapon. It's two celestial bronze swords with hooked ends, one's long and one's short. Quick, now!_

I have a weapon? thought Natalie curiously. _Yes!_ screamed Natalie's mother franticly in her mind, making Natalie wince._ I forged it for you myself, now go get it!_

The thirteen year old nodded, not trying to make Natasha scream anymore than she had. Can you go deaf even if there's no real noise going on? Natalie turned to the hole on her left side and stuck her hand in, trying to grab her very important 'weapon'. She grabbed something, that's for sure. Two things, actually. Pulling them out cautiously, she gasped in amazement at the handles of the two swords. Covered in pictures of vines and other gorgeous plants and flowers, the swords fit her mother's description perfectly. Absolutely perfect, she thought in gratitude. _I'm glad you like them, sweets,_ her mother chirped in her brain. _Now, go kick some asses!_

Natalie smiled and gripped the swords. They felt light and comfortable in her hands. Perhaps this was were her capoeira training would come in handy? She jumped in the air, landing right next to the skeleton's head on the floor. Forming an 'X' shape with the swords, she prepared to wreak havoc on the whining skeleton.

"Wait a second, girlie, don't you want to find out who the big boss is? I'll tell you, just-"

Natalie raised an eyebrow and laughed. This man - no, this demon - had not only attacked her and killed two police officers, he'd probably scarred her baby sister for life. There's no way she'd ever let him go. "No thanks. I have a feeling I'll be hearing from him soon. Goodbye, you jerk."

Natalie easily slid the hooks in the ridges of the skeleton's neck, cutting the skin like butter. She felt so powerful with these swords in her hands, as if she could take ten more gold-encrusted skeletons, even with their big scary knives. She yanked harshly on the handles of her swords, popping off the skeleton's head with ease. She watched as the hounds ran back to her with the skeleton's arms in their mouths. Suddenly, however, the dogs ended up with mouthfuls of gold powder. That's weird, but appropriate considering the amount of gold that guy wore, thought Natalie. Time to call Alice down from her hiding place.

"Alice Layla Taylor! Get down from there, would you? I can't check out your arm if you're up there, it's too small for us both!" Natalie loved saying her younger sister's full name. It just rolled off the tongue so easily, but Alice hated when anyone said it. No one in her third grade class knows her middle name is Taylor either, they all still think it's Jessica.

It should be 5 o'clock by now, thought Natalie. Still an hour until her father would get home. How stupid. She'd fought off a crazy skeleton demon thing, and her father was out buying groceries for like three hours. He'd better have bought more peaches.

Alice climbed down from the tree, now visible. She ran over to Natalie and giggled. "You were so cool! How'd you know to call Barbie and Canning? Wait, where are they? Weren't they there a minute a ago? Oh and your swords! Your swords are like, totally fantastical amazing!" Natalie tossed her head back and laughed. Alice seemed to forget about the skeleton man for now, which was indeed totally fantastical amazing. She'd remember later, probably, in her dreams. They'd have to go for a night walk then. What they'd do until her father came home was undetermined. Natalie knew she was going to take a shower at some point that day, but she didn't feel like leaving Alice alone until her father came back. Perhaps she'd give Alice the candies she'd wanted?

SOMEWHERE, AT SOMETIME THAT DAY

"Percy!" yelled Annabeth, breathing heavily from running all over the camp. She'd been looking for Percy for half an hour. A half-blood had popped up in Far Rockaway and was in serious trouble. There seemed to be two of them actually, which was even more dangerous. More than one monster may be targeting them.

Percy looked up from his seat inside the camp arena. He'd been staring at the ground in deep thought. His thoughts weren't as serious as Annabeth's situation though. He was 19, had no idea whether he was going to survive to turn 20 and really, really wanted Annabeth to be his. Forever. That's right, he was planning to propose.

But this wasn't about him right now, was it?

"I already grabbed Nico, he's been waiting for us for 20 minutes. There's a half-blood in Far Rockaway, two actually, who are most likely being targeted by several monsters as we speak. We need to move, now." rambled Annabeth, drinking water from her pouch when she was done. Percy nodded and clutched his Riptide. Two new half-bloods?

Running to the entrance of the camp, they saw Nico arguing with one of his skeleton warriors. Nico wasn't one to get very angry and you could tell he wasn't here. Just very confused. Even when he'd get angry, he wouldn't mouth off to anyone who didn't deserve it. His servant must be really stupid, thought Percy. "What do you mean, 'your master'? Aren't I-"

"That's not what I meant, I am only loyal to you, my lord." said the warrior. Nico scoffed. He didn't trust the living as much as he did the dead, but that didn't mean he trusted the dead. Ignoring the boy, the skeleton warrior continued. "Still, you were not my first master, as I have had many. There was one in particular who still lives and isn't very nice-"

This news made Nico very, very nervous. Someone else who controls skeletons and possibly other monsters was chasing half-bloods and seemed to have an actual motive. Looking around, he saw Percy and Annabeth and let out a relieved sigh. He had been waiting forever for them to get there. Turning back to his warrior, he tried to get one last piece of information from him.

"Well, do you know where he is?" asked Nico hopefully. His shoulders sagged as his minion shrugged his shoulders unhelpfully.

"I can only recognize the location of my current master. I have no ties with this one." said the skeleton warrior apologetically. Nico shook his head and gestured for him to go away. Waving, the warrior disappeared as Percy and Annabeth reached him.

"Where have you guys been?" said Nico impatiently, getting ready to call the chariot of damnation.

"I was looking for Percy, who was being lazy on a chair in the arena." said Annabeth, looking really annoyed. Not at Percy, but herself for not checking the arena first. Nico, however, saw this as a perfect time to actually tease Percy about something, not the other way around. If he could score some manly points with Annie while he did it, well, he'd do that.

"Really, Perce, really?" he began, raising his eyebrow incredulously.

"How was I supposed to know she was looking for me?" whined Percy, checking for the chariot to come winding down the road. He really hadn't known, if he had, he would have gone to find her.

"She's your girlfriend, you should have some sort of internal radar for whenever she needs your help." chuckled Nico, unable to keep a straight face. He really wasn't good at making jokes. He'd start laughing in the middle of them instead of waiting to the end. However, his laughter seemed to only make Percy more defensive.

"You've never even had a girlfriend, how would you know about that?" complained Percy, not getting that Nico was (or was trying to be) joking. He had a habit of taking things personally.

"Guys..." muttered Annabeth. She saw the chariot, but it wouldn't get to where they were for another 20 seconds at the least. 20 seconds was more than enough for the little tiff the boys were having, over her no less, to get really stupid.

"So you admit that you -the one with the actual girlfriend- didn't know about that?" provoked Nico, wiggling his eyebrows crazily. Steam began to leak from Percy's ears, a little bit at a time. I didn't know he could do that, thought Annabeth and Nico at the same time. Unbeknownst to each other, obviously.

"Why does that even matter!" huffed Percy, anxious to draw attention away from himself. This wasn't doing him any good. He still had no idea how to propose and Nico was playing with him.

"Hey, look! The chariot's here!" yelled Annabeth, trying to draw attention from her boyfriend as well. Admittedly, it was funny to watch Nico tease him, but she wasn't mean enough to let Percy suffer. Hades was one of the smarter ones, if you compared him to his brothers and some of the other male gods. So, naturally, Nico was a little quicker than Percy.

"Great, let's go." shouted Percy as he grabbed Annabeth's arm and pulled her inside next to him. Nico laughed and took the seat next to her.

"Where are we going?" he asked Annabeth lazily.

"Blah-blah-blah street in Far Rockaway, Queens." she told the drivers and Nico at the same time. The fifteen year old son of Hades nodded and whistled appreciatively.

"I've been there before, it's kinda far." he said, looking out the window passively.

"Oh? What'd you go for?" asked Percy his interest slightly piqued when he heard the place the were going. Annabeth had already told him where there where going, but this was the first time he'd actually paid attention to it. He could hear Nico's smug little voice saying to him: looks like someone doesn't pay enough attention to their girlfriend and it's not me!

'It wasn't exactly on purpose really." Nico replied, looking away sheepishly. Percy nodded, deciding not to bother him about that. There were some things you just had to respect. Nico had gone through lots of embarrassing moments in the past year. After the Titan War had ended, Nico took advantage of his free time to learn some about his abilities. It turned out he wasn't as good a shadow traveler as he thought originally. He tried practicing, but he ended up going many places he hadn't planned to - a Victoria's Secret dressing room and a ghetto McDonald's in Harlem, to name a few. Percy had already told Annabeth about it, as he'd been dragged along for some of the rides. Unfortunately, Annabeth didn't want to know what happened in the Victoria's Secret dressing room. She guessed and, assuming the worst, boy was he in trouble. So what if the manager banned him from the store for staring? Annabeth didn't talk to him for a whole week!

At least Nico had the decency to cover his eyes, even if it was his horrible shadow traveling that got them in that mess.

"Do you have the names and ages of the new half bloods?" asked Percy, changing the subject to something that wouldn't make his girlfriend mad. Annabeth nodded and took out a small piece of paper from her backpack.

"Natalie Belle Taylor, age 13, turns 14 next month. Alice Layla Taylor, age 8, turns 9 next weekend." she read.

"Cool." said Percy, nodding to himself. The 8 year old sounded like she'd have fun with all the little kids there...but the older one. "The older one's around your age, Nico..Nico?"

"Huh?" asked Nico. The 14 year old had planned to listen to music the whole ride. I guess you can't have it all, he thought. Dragging the earphones out from his ear, he looked up at Percy. "What's up?" he said, reaching into his book-bag for a chocolate bar.

Percy's eyes widened as he gawked at Nico's music player. "I thought we weren't allowed electronics."

"Tell that to the blonde," replied the younger boy, jerking his thumb towards the suspicious bulge in Annabeth's pocket. Percy stared at Annabeth, about to burst out laughing at her face. She blushed angrily and whipped her head to face the son of Hades, ready to defend herself. "Why were you staring at my jeans, huh?"

"I wasn't. I watched you secretly slide it into your pocket while we waited for the chariot. Other electronics are fine, as long as they don't use phone service. You see, this is an iPod. It's connected to the internet. No phone lines, no monsters."

"...Percy, weren't you saying something else to him?" grumbled Annabeth, turning her phone off in her pocket.

"Oh, yeah. As I was saying, the older one's around your age. How do you think she survived so long outside of camp?"

"Uh...mind telling who we're talking about?"

"The new half-bloods, Nico. Weren't you listening?" Annabeth smirked, too anxious for revenge.

"Does it seem like I was listening?" said the dark-haired boy incredulously, waving his earphones in front of her face. Not wanting to lose the argument entirely, she stuck out her tongue teasingly, prompting Nico to grab it before she was able to bring it back in.

"Eh? Eh-ah! Maw-maw-maw-mah, I-coo!" Annabeth shrieked. (Translation: What? Stop that! Get off my tongue, Nico!) Percy laughed, expecting him to do that. Nico had a low tolerance when it came to women. He just couldn't stand it when girls annoyed him on purpose. He was born in an earlier era, even if it didn't seem like it. Which meant he had certain views and ideas in him from who knows when, that made react differently to certain things. If that wasn't Annabeth, he would have done a lot more that grab her tongue. Probably grab her arm and lock them in a closet until dinner.

"If we're talking about the new half-bloods," Nico began, ignoring Annabeth's cries of fury. He didn't care about the spit on his finger. He was positive that Annabeth of all people, who spent 20% of her day attached to Percy's face, brushed her teeth at least twice a day. He felt strangely at peace now that he couldn't understand what she was saying. "Normally, I'd say they're the children of a minor god. However, if we're the ones being called out to help them, that's probably not the case..."

"I get it. I don't know, maybe they're like me and they have someone smelly living with them." thought Percy. He remembered his step-father, Gabe Ugliano, and the circumstances under which he and his mother were living together. Even after all these years, it made Percy's skin crawl to know his mother had put up with his disgusting ways to protect him. Could that be the case which these children?

Annabeth wailed and cuffed Nico on the back of the head. It didn't really hurt him, that much was obvious, but it did get him irritated. Reaching into his backpack with his other hand, he found a piece of caramel toffee. They were one of his favorites, but Annabeth hated them. So naturally, Nico unwrapped it a place it on it tongue, relishing her cries of fury.

Turning to look at Percy, Annabeth whimpered as if trying to say: I know I was bad, but don't let him do this! However, Percy wasn't going to help Annabeth yet. He could understand what she was saying fine, at this point. She'd finally calmed down and focused on speaking properly, making it pretty easy. She'd tried to reason with Nico, but he'd ignored her, only talking to Percy. He figured Nico'd give in in a second. Despite being her boyfriend and considering being her husband, Percy really didn't want to touch Annabeth's tongue. He was just a neat freak like that. Strange, considering how messy his cabin was.

True enough, when they were blocks from the half-blood's address, Nico let go of the tongue, wiping his hands on his shirt. He, along with Annabeth and Percy, peered out the windows, trying to memorize the landscape. They'd have to know what they place looked like if they wanted to use it to their advantage in the chaos.  
The chariot reach the destination. It was a small, yet large baby blue house, with a perfectly tended lawn. A giant tree stood proud and tall next to it, taking up a lot of space on the property. It looked like nothing really happened. That is, until Annabeth stepped in police officer guts.

"Shoot!" she yelled, somewhat quietly. Looking at her sneakers, she grimaced at the blood stains and rotting smell that would be a pain to get out.

"What's all this-ouch!" cried Percy, rubbing the back of his head. Something was definitely wrong here. The house in front of them looked to be completely empty, and there was carnage on the sidewalk - an obvious indicator that a monster had been messing around. Not only so, but something had thrown a rock at Percy's head. Was the monster still there? Had it eaten the half-bloods? Would the three have to fight there way back to camp?

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing on my father's property?" yelled a young African American girl, her clothes covered in blood and dirt.

IN THAT EXACT SAME PLACE AND TIME, YET IN A DIFFERENT GROUP'S PERSPECTIVE

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing on my father's property?" Natalie yelled, zipping toward a group of teens on her skates. Her younger sister, Alice, trailed behind her, with a wary look on her face. Though it was the young one who carried the weapon, two hooked swords of different lengths, Natalie still managed to look more intimidating then her sister, even while wearing roller skates. She had no weapon, at least, not one that was visible.

Still, her every move she radiated strength. Her walk (or slide, I should say) was tall and proud and quickly paced, making it clear she had somewhere she intended to go. Her eyes were only determined, not angry or confused. The only emotion Natalie felt at that moment was determination, as she was determined to protect her little sister at all costs. They'd only gone inside for a moment, as Natalie's mother advised her to grab her skates and wait in the tree house. Knowing she had the ability to call the dogs when she needed them, she handed Alice her swords, after giving her a quick tutorial. This made Alice very happy, but also very worried. Natalie wouldn't give her anything as dangerous as that unless she felt that Alice was in danger. Unless she felt that she might not be able to keep her promise to their father, and protect her sister always.

That was exactly how Natalie felt. According to her own standards, she'd already failed in protecting her sister once. Those three skull marks on her arm must have hurt a lot. Natalie had cleaned the wound herself, wrapping it and covering it from the world. Her younger sister must be educated in how to protect herself, especially if Natalie was as inept at protecting people as she seemed to be.

When Natalie saw a cab turn the corner of her street, she grabbed her sister and they climbed down from the treehouse together. Putting on her skates and waiting behind the huge tree, Natalie listened quietly, trying to figure out what the trespassers wanted. Laughing as the blonde stepped in policeman guts, she chuckled even more when Alice threw a small rock at the tallest boy's head. The eight year old was ready to attack people, obviously. She waited for one of them to turn away from them, and struck, her aim spot on.

"What's all this-ouch!" said they boy and Natalie would have exploded if she didn't have a job to do. She rolled out and questioned the group, anxious to know why they were standing in front of her house.

* * *

Yeah! That was over 10 pages of writing, guys! I hope you're as excited for the next chapter as I am! At the moment, I have 2,000 words of it done. However, before that chapter goes up, the first chapter of a different Percy Jackson story will go up! It's also OC-centric, but it will have a more carefree theme than this story. Look for updates on my profile!

How did I do when it came to portraying the canon characters? I don't know if I got Percy and Nico's relationship down, but they seem to be the type to make a game out of teasing each other. I also want Percy and Annabeth to get married. I don't think I did Annabeth's personality correctly though. She seems kind of mean or fake, which wasn't my intention. Tell me if she seems that way to you, please?

As a treat, here's a sneak peak at the next chapter! Alice is always the one to get hurt, huh?

NEXT CHAPTER (preview!): i don't bite, i swallow

"AH!" yelled Alice, as the monster took her into his jaws. Closing his mouth, it quickly swallowed and Natalie could see her sister's figure flailing as it when down it's throat.

Annabeth gasped in horror at the sight, and Percy was a mess. "What do we do, what do we do!" he stuttered, pacing. "Natalie, your sister's-"

"I understand the situation." muttered Natalie, reaching into the dark circles once again at her mother's command. There was a second weapon. Pulling out a (nope! spoiler, sorry!) she began her sentence anew. "I understand that we have seconds, five minutes at most, to free my sister from that thing's stomach before she runs out of air or the acid destroys her."

Alice had taken swimming lessons as a child, at her mother's request, and was, thankfully very good at it. She had a habit of showing off how long she could hold her breath. Her longest was seven minutes, but at five minutes she experience headaches and nausea like never before. Still, her mother had her practice, knowing that the skill would help her in the long run. Hopefully, she wouldn't get too sick by the time the got her out.

It was a good plan, but a flawed one. It was a timed mission and her sister's life was in peril. The creature had three stomachs, there was no time for the group to tear through them all. They'd have to slice them all open at once. If they succeeded, her sister would be freed and the monster would die. If they took too long, Alice would be gone forever, even if they destroyed the monster. They could also focus on killing the monster and when it turned to dust Alice would hopefully still be there. Unless the monster took Alice with him to tartarus. There were no good options.

Seconds ticked away. They had to move.


End file.
